open water

[Lynno62]

BDR, Thank you, and to everyone else, this info is priceless. I will try a little of all the plastics mentioned, as i will be shorefishing some pretty clear lakes that you can watch the fish bit, but I am also going to try the river brobably the crow and missi, since one is out my front door and one is out my back door.

Thanks guys. Lynn

[CrappieJohn]

Thanks Brian....I was looking for mine and didn't find them until late last night. These are another example of plastic with a modified paddle tail and work very well when the fish get a mood on. And they come in a variety of color. The jig is 1/32 ounce. An excellent bait when one has to scale down due to fronts of cooling water. I love these when fish get tight to deep wood.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I'm with MR Pike.. the Exude Micro Shad is a very good plastic..I have had quite a bit of success with it.

I have to admit that the JR's paddy tail looks pretty good as well..

[Matt Johnson]

I love those JR's paddy's! They are the ones that come in the little tubes and they work wonders on the pannies, both slabs and bulls. Definitely another option for paddy tail style baits and built on a collar-less jig.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Down to Earth]

Another paddletail style plastic I've had success with are "Mini Mites". They come in a small little tube. This year I order some Southern Pro 1 1/2" Tiny Worms. They are another paddletail style. I'll let you know how I do with those. I may have to drive on down to Fleet Farm and see if they have any of the Exude products you guys are talking about and experiment with them as well.

Lots of good info.

Andy

[Mr. Pike1]

Crappie Tom, I don't think I came across correctly on my post. I did not mean to compete with what you know or the paddle tails. I just wanted you to know that work and you might want to add a bag to your box. They are much smaller and I just recommend you try them when you are on the crappies to see how they perform

[CrappieJohn]

Pike ....Not a problem. Just that I've been there and what I use today does more for me and fishing crappies than anything. Its like the Exude. It has its place for some people and even I can find a limited window for its use. What I find in the other baits that work best for me is that they simply smoke the Exude in all but about one scenario. In that one situation I will use Exude.

I have done this plastics thing for many,many years and have had my hands on a ton of different products. One of the most un-productive lure bodies that I have ever fished with is those "pogo" shads. I don't have any of those. I have twisters ranging from 1" to 2 1/2" in a multitude of colors that are found in my everyday box simply because they work when things are hot. Tubes in about twenty five color combinations are also in that box and are, quite frankly, one of the most productive lures ever made....at times. In more recent years I have found myself looking closer at profile baits that simply outshine all of these other baits.

Paddletails differ from the pogos by that membrane thin strap between the narrower body and thinner, more active tail. About 6 different shapes of paddies are found in my box and I can cover every situation, from thru ice to late fall when ice hinders your casting, using these baits. I have four different rat-tailed baits in the box and these are absolutely some of the best cold-front, open water baits you can find. Three different flat-tailed, no-twister baits are in this collection too. Small compared to the paddletails they come in real handy if I trip over some active sunfish. I carry two different "minnow" bodies baits, one in a couple of sizes, which are great when cast/retrieving open water crappies when they are scattered after the spawn and not relating to any obvious structure. One of these is a scented product.

Of all my collection that goes to the water with me without fail, I have scented products from two different companies. One is Exude and the other is PowerBait. While scented baits are in the bag that goes to the boat with me, I am finding less and less a need for those baits that are scented; however, when things demand some smell help my personal preference is for PowerBait because it has shown itself to be more productive for me. Someone else may see the exact opposite of this observation. I do know that fishing side by side with friends who were using a 1" Exude chartreuse sparkle twister and I the same color and size in the PowerBait, I outfished both of them combined doing thre exact same retreive and depth, etc. The only place I have found for the Exude is in our local lake in the dead off winter while fishing crappies in an aeration pool near a dam. In that instance the 1" Exude twister outshines anything.But that is about it for me.

All diligent fishermen will refine and tailor their tackle to their needs and fishing style. I constantly look at all the new toys and when I see something that gets me to do a double-take, well.....then I have to try it. Over the years this activity has done two things: weighed down my "essential" tackle and filled several garbage cans. This is all part of the game. Its in that refining process that individuals develope their own preferences to specific tackle....it makes all of us uniquely different from one another, yet still on the same playing field. I like to try and get people to look at many different bait possibilities for no other reason than to help them see how much more there is to fishing than just going to the water with a couple items and a bucket of minnows. I try to encourage people to be inventive and to use their imagination a little when fishing this plastic stuff....it holds so many hidden opportunities. The one thing I do not try to do is to tell someone that they have to use this or that, because what I have mastered may not be as easy for another to master. For those who are looking at expanding what and how they fish, the plastics world can be a wonderland or it can be a confusing jungle.

I have finally gotten to a point in my life where whether I catch a ton of fish every time I go out or not is not important. I find myself more impressed with "how this works" or "I wonder what this looks like to the fish?" and I am happier when the only one that I feel I need to impress is me. But I also like to share what I have learned with those who haven't had the time as I have had to learn some of what I have.

So no, Mr. Pike I did not take your post wrong nor did I see it any way other than what you inferred. I have just somehow seemed to over-fill my plate again and right now there isn't room for anything else. We should share a day in the boat. Talk about it and swap some ideas. You know how to talk real good? You'd fit right in!

[Mr. Pike1]

Crappie Tom, funny you mention talk in the post. My fathers father father, my grandfather, my father were all gifted in that art of talk. I guess it is somewhat genetic and I share that family gene. Anyway I have been fishing since I was 5 years old with my Dad and am now 38 so I do have 30 plus years of fishing experience to share and like you I have many many lures that are nothing more then hype. To be honest I always am drawn to live bait and a jig minnow or jig crawler is still my bait of choice. That being said if there is a bait on the market plastic or otherwise I am sure I could find it my box to share.

My passion used to be fishing for Pike as that is what my father targets. I still love the days on the water fishing with my Dad with a sucker minnow and a bobber off a weedline. Something magical about watching that big buey take a dive.

I targeted walleyes for many years and still do like walleye fishing but the dog days of summer chasing walleye is not enough action for me. This is what lead to targeting big bull sunfish and crappie to keep me entertained. My dad love chasing pannies to so that can be a blast.

Recently over the last few years I have begun fishing the Mississippi River and I must tell you I am hooked on the river. Were I have been fishing there is no angler pressure and the small mouth action 16-20" fish is unbelievable. I also have found in addition to this the river holds an unbeleivable walleye population and as I have stated in some other posts in different forums the size of the crappie is consistantly 12-14".

I would like to meet up with you sometime on the water to chase crappie. I am not sure of your location. I am in Maplewood and for some reason beleive you to be in the South perhaps the Rochester area.

I am planning on adding the few of the paddle tails you covet to my box and will try a few againts some of my favorits. I also thing the tube jigs are a go to bait. My favorite are made by mepps with my preference being white and chartruse.